Adelia von Goldheart (1)
"Whew..."
Fortunately, I was able to escape the underground arena quickly.
Though I was initially disoriented by the gap between the game's graphics and reality, finding my way around became easier as time passed.
Once I made it out of the underground arena, I immediately set off toward my next destination.
By now, has Karayan realized that the Frost Sunset is a fake?
Well, the chances were high.
The appraisers of the Ruins Merchant Group were exceptionally skilled, after all.
Their precision appraisal accuracy was on par with the Ruins Investigation Team, professionals who traveled the continent excavating items, which said it all.
Above all, if Karayan examined the Frost Sunset closely once more with her Golden Eyes skill...
...No, wait.
Now that I think about it, Karayan's abilities are still unstable at this point in time.
She hasn't fully awakened yet.
If anything, the limited information provided by her incomplete skill might actually cause confusion during the appraisal.
Perhaps that was why she hadn't doubted for a second that the Frost Sunset was genuine.
I'm pretty sure there was a storyline where she got into deep trouble because she placed too much blind faith in an unstable skill...
Ah, whatever.
Thinking about it was giving me a headache, so I decided to stop worrying about Karayan's circumstances.
It wasn't like I would be seeing her face again anytime soon anyway.
First, I need to get some rest.
Maybe it was because too many things had happened all at once.
I was utterly exhausted. I felt like I could collapse at any moment.
My vision spun dizzily, and my head throbbed with a dull ache.
Honestly, it was a miracle I had lasted this long with a frail body whose stats were all flat ones.
And it looks like I've finally reached my destination.
Step, step.
Having arrived in the city center, I slowly looked around.
It was a dark, damp city where not a single ray of sunlight penetrated.
Although the streets were crowded, it was rare to see anyone who looked decent.
There were people staggering and giggling as if drugged, and others whose missing limbs had been replaced with magitech prosthetics.
At a glance, the place exuded a sinister, lawless atmosphere.
Dawnguard, the Dark City.
That was the name of this place.
Located on the southwestern outskirts of the continent, it served as the headquarters for the Ruins Merchant Group.
It was a lawless zone formed by vicious criminals who had been exiled from other cities and gathered here one by one.
Due to the nature of the region, various criminal syndicates had once nested here, but after bloody turf wars, the Ruins Merchant Group ultimately seized absolute control.
At this point, it was safe to say the entire city was practically under Karayan's thumb.
Here it is.
I stopped in my tracks.
After wandering the streets lost in thought, I pulled up in front of a building.
Unlike the other shabby, haphazardly constructed buildings, this lodging facility was clean and quite stylishly decorated.
The sign above the entrance bore the following name:
It was one of the few top-tier hotels in the world of Lost Elder.
It was no exaggeration to say this was the safest place in the entire dark city of Dawnguard.
The room rates are ridiculously expensive, but it guarantees top-notch security and service to match.
For someone like me who desperately needed a place to rest without looking over my shoulder, it was the perfect spot.
As for the steep price, I could easily pay for it with the money Karayan had given me.
Walking into the hotel lobby, I booked a room immediately. I then followed the staff member up the stairs and down the hallway toward my room.
Before long, I arrived in front of the door.
"Have a comfortable stay, sir."
Creak, click.
I shut the door behind the politely bowing employee.
Had my physical limits finally caught up to me? My legs had been shaking just climbing the stairs a moment ago.
I wanted nothing more than to throw myself onto the bed and soothe my exhausted body.
"Whew..."
I collapsed face-first onto the sheets.
The soft embrace of the mattress enveloped my entire body.
As my tension melted away, a wave of deep lethargy washed over me.
It was the first taste of true comfort I had experienced since falling into this world.
"..."
I slowly turned my head, burying my face in the pillow.
Outside the window, the sky had already grown dark. It meant this long, grueling day was finally drawing to a close.
Only then did the reality of it sink in.
I had actually survived and escaped the underground arena—the tutorial zone known as a living hell.
I really survived.
Clearing the tutorial without dying.
It was an achievement that countless veteran players had attempted, but not a single one had ever accomplished.
After all, the system was hard-coded to ensure the player's death.
Yet, not only did I survive the tutorial, but I had also slain the Human Butcher, Barba.
On top of that, I had extorted the Feather Sword and 100 million shillings from the Ruins Merchant Group.
Achieving all of this at the very start of the game, especially with a body whose average stats were a measly 1, was incredibly encouraging.
If I had slipped up even slightly, I would have lost my life.
I retraced the events of the day in my head.
The battle against Barba, the negotiation with Karayan on the top floor of the underground arena, and everything in between.
My life had hung in the balance at every single turn.
It felt like walking a tightrope over an abyss.
Perhaps that was why this moment of peace felt so incredibly precious.
"..."
Yet, a corner of my mind remained anxious.
Now that I had been dropped into this godforsaken world, I would have to face similar dangers over and over again.
No matter how powerful the Soul of the Sword Master was, surviving in the world of Lost Elder with base stats of 1 was never going to be easy.
Which means...
I needed a plan.
A strategy to survive this hellhole, no matter what.
Step, step.
The next morning.
Leaving the hotel, I walked through the city streets, reviewing the plan I had formulated last night.
First, I need to grow stronger.
Power.
In this primitive world, power was the ultimate currency.
Of course, I had my trump card, the Soul of the Sword Master, but...
...Entrusting my safety entirely to this one ability right now poses a few problems.
For starters, the skill's duration is a mere 0.01 seconds.
In a world where any kind of crisis could strike at any moment, relying solely on that split second was far too risky.
And above all, the cooldown is practically massive.
Technically, the skill itself was a toggle type, meaning it didn't have an inherent cooldown, but...
...Because both my maximum mana pool and mana regeneration stats were stuck at 1, a cooldown was effectively forced upon me.
Look at this.
Even after a full night's sleep, my MP was still at 0.
Since my Mana stat is 1, it should recover right about now...
Tick.
...There we go.
Actually, the solution to this problem was incredibly simple.
Without overthinking it, I just needed to dump points into my Mana-related stats.
Then, with a single click of the skill, I would be able to obliterate any enemy in front of me.
However...
I paused.
I stopped walking for a moment.
Then, I looked up at the translucent window floating above my head.
Normally, my level should have been much higher by now.
After all, I had defeated the Level 71 Human Butcher, Barba.
Killing him at Level 1 should have yielded an astronomical amount of experience points.
...Well, that would be the case if this were a game.
But this is reality, not a game.
Well, this allowed me to deduce one more fact.
The system visible to my eyes was merely a tool to visualize my current state.
It meant that easy growth—like leveling up to increase stats as one would in a game—was impossible.
Besides, considering the lore of Lost Elder...
Getting a free ride through leveling up was out of the question from the start.
...Therefore, I must find another way to grow stronger.
And last night,
the first method that came to my mind was this:
A Sacred Piece literally meant a holy fragment.
In the game's lore, they were remnants of ancient gods scattered across the continent.
To put it simply, they were rewards players received upon clearing specific trials.
The rewards vary wildly.
Skills, traits, potions, wealth.
From minor items to high-tier equipment, including divine relics.
Whatever they were, they would be more than enough to make the current me stronger.
Of course, with my current weak body, I can't go around collecting Sacred Pieces myself.
Probing into trials with average stats of 1?
Nonsense. That was practically suicide.
Thus, the clever workaround I devised was this:
First, let's get boosted.
Power-leveling.
The act of riding on the coattails of a high-stat NPC.
These days, people often called it "getting carried."
My plan was to recruit an NPC to clear the trials on my behalf and have them do all the dirty work. Naturally, I would keep the rewards for myself.
"..."
But that raised a question.
Where on earth was I going to find this driver to carry me?
And even if I found one, how was I supposed to make them work for me?
Finding a powerhouse who wouldn't stab me in the back and would obediently follow my orders was no easy task.
Especially considering the bleak and grim setting of Lost Elder.
Of course...
Fortunately, I didn't need to stress over this problem.
After all, a "suitable candidate" had been tailing me since yesterday.
I came to a halt.
Deep inside an alleyway in the dark city of Dawnguard.
Having walked deep into the shadows, I stopped.
Standing quietly in the narrow, dim passage, I muttered to myself.
"How long do you plan on tailing me?"
No answer came.
Only a chilling silence filled the air.
Yet, I paid it no mind and continued talking to the empty space.
"I'm not known for my patience."
"..."
"So I will ask one last time. How long do you plan on following me?"
Silence fell once more.
But this time, the quiet did not last long.
Step, step.
After a brief hesitation, the sound of cautious footsteps echoed.
Before long, a woman revealed herself in front of me.
A lion.
Yes. At first glance, she was a woman who brought to mind the king of beasts.
Messy, long platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. Pale skin marked with faint scars here and there.
I quietly muttered the name of the character I had seen countless times through the monitor while playing Lost Elder.
Adelia von Goldheart.
She was one of the candidates I had in mind to carry me.
"..."
Of course, Level 77 didn't make her one of the absolute strongest in this world.
She was merely a renowned expert within the region.
In this vast continent, monsters far stronger than Adelia were everywhere. One only had to look at the Shadow Knight Lauren, whom I had encountered earlier, who was Level 84.
Even so, there was only one reason I wanted to recruit Adelia von Goldheart.
Adelia has the highest growth potential out of all the NPCs in the game.
She was destined to slay one of the Twelve Sword Masters in the future and take their place, becoming one of the strongest beings in the world.
My goal was to win her over and make her mine starting right now.
It wouldn't be too difficult.
Having played Lost Elder for twelve years, I knew almost everything there was to know about Adelia von Goldheart.
Including what she truly desires.
It was time to start acting again.